9.  The first applicant, Mr Anatoliy Ponomaryov, was born on 15 June 1986 in Kustanay, in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic (now the Republic of Kazakhstan). His brother, the second applicant, Mr Vitaliy Ponomaryov, was also born there on 6 June 1988. In 1990 the two moved to Moscow, the Russian Federation, with their mother, Mrs A.P., a Russian national. In 1992 their mother divorced their father, Mr V.P., also a Russian national. The whereabouts of the latter remain unclear; it appears that he might have settled in another country, probably Germany. It also seems that the applicants have not kept any contact with their father since the divorce.
10.  On 6 August 1993 the applicants’ mother married a Bulgarian national. In 1994 the family settled in Pazardzhik, Bulgaria. The applicants’ mother was then granted a permanent residence permit on the basis of her marriage to a Bulgarian national and the applicants were entitled to reside in Bulgaria on the basis of their mother’s permit.
11.  In 1994 the applicants enrolled in a Bulgarian primary school, and later in secondary schools. Both of them apparently speak fluent Bulgarian.
12.  Their mother has been out of work since 1998. Her husband owned a small Internet café business, which was apparently shut down by the authorities in 2005.
13.  On 15 June 2004 Mr Anatoliy Ponomaryov turned 18, and accordingly had to obtain an independent permit in order to continue residing in Bulgaria lawfully. In September 2004 he contacted the immigration authorities and was informed that, to obtain a permanent residence permit, he first had to leave Bulgaria, obtain a special visa from a Bulgarian embassy abroad, return to the country and apply for a temporary residence permit; only then could he apply for a permanent residence permit.
14.  On 28 September 2004 the consular department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed Mr Anatoliy Ponomaryov that it would not insist on his leaving the country to obtain a special visa and that he could get one in Bulgaria. The applicant then applied for a permanent residence permit. However, as he was unable to raise the money needed to pay the requisite fees (amounting in total to slightly over 1,300 Bulgarian levs (BGN)), the immigration authorities returned his application on 22 February 2005 without considering it.
15.  In October 2005 both applicants, asserting that they had no property or income, asked the Commission for the Remission of Uncollectible State Debts, established by the President of the Republic, to waive the fees in respect of both of them. On 31 May 2006 the Commission rejected their requests, stating that their debts did not appear to be uncollectible.
16.  In the meantime, on 17 February and 8 March 2006, the immigration authorities informed the applicants that they had been granted permanent residence permits and invited them to collect them. On 11 May 2006 the applicants paid the requisite fees and obtained documents certifying that they had permanent residence permits. Mr Anatoliy Ponomaryov paid a total amount of BGN 1,375.26 and Mr Vitaliy Ponomaryov a total amount of BGN 1,415.26. They managed to raise the money by taking out a bank loan.
17.  On 9 February 2005, when Mr Anatoliy Ponomaryov was in the final year of his secondary education, the head of the Regional Education Inspectorate of the Ministry of Education wrote to the head teacher of his school, inquiring whether the applicant had paid the school fees which he owed as an alien without a permanent residence permit and, if not, whether any measures had been taken to collect them. Two and a half months later, on 26 April 2005, the Education Inspectorate in Pazardzhik held a meeting with the head teacher. At that meeting, attended also by representatives of the immigration authorities, a discussion took place as to whether steps should be taken to enforce section 4(3) of the additional provisions of the 1991 National Education Act (see paragraph 32 below) in respect of the applicant.
18.  On 28 April 2005 the head teacher ordered the applicant to pay 800 euros (EUR) in fees, failing which he would be barred from attending classes and would not be issued with a certificate for having completed the school year. She relied on a decision of the Minister of Education of 20 July 2004 laying down the fees payable by aliens schooled in Bulgarian educational establishments under the above-mentioned section 4(3).
19.  The applicant sought judicial review of the head teacher’s order. On 5 July 2005 the Pazardzhik Regional Court partly quashed and partly upheld the order. It found that there was no indication that the applicant had a permanent residence permit. He could therefore pursue his studies only if he paid the requisite fees. However, the fact that he had not paid them did not mean that he should not be issued with a certificate for having completed the previous school year, given that the amount could still be recovered from him. That part of the order was therefore unlawful.
20.  Both the applicant and the head teacher appealed. On 13 June 2006 the Supreme Administrative Court upheld the lower court’s judgment (реш. № 6381 от 13 юни 2006 г. по адм. д. № 10496/2005 г., ВАС, V о.). It fully agreed with its reasoning, and added that the fact that in the meantime the first applicant had been granted a permanent residence permit (see paragraph 16 above) meant solely that he could attend a Bulgarian school free of charge in the future. However, as at the relevant time he had not had permanent resident status, he had been obliged to pay the requisite fees. Concerning the issuance of a certificate for completion of the corresponding school year, the lower court’s ruling had been correct, as payment of the fees was a precondition for attending classes but failure to pay could not serve as grounds for refusing to award a certificate if the individual concerned had already completed the year.
21.  Apparently, the applicant’s school did not in practice prevent him from attending classes, but the issuance of his secondary school diploma was delayed by about two years, which in turn delayed his enrolment in university.
22.  Separately, Mr Anatoliy Ponomaryov sought review of the Minister’s fee-setting decision of 20 July 2004 (see paragraph 18 above). He argued, inter alia, that it was discriminatory to require aliens to pay fees to attend Bulgarian schools.
23.  On 10 January 2006 a three-member panel of the Supreme Administrative Court dismissed the application (реш. № 349 от 10 януари 2006 г. по адм. д. № 5034/2005 г., ВАС, V о.). It found, inter alia, that privileges granted on the basis of nationality were commonplace in many countries. Moreover, Article 14 of the Convention did not expressly prohibit discrimination on such grounds. If envisaged by a statute or an international treaty, the differential treatment of individuals on the basis of their nationality did not amount to discrimination. Moreover, aliens having permanent residence permits did not have to pay school fees. However, the applicant had not shown that he had such a permit.
24.  On an appeal by the applicant, a five-member panel of the Supreme Administrative Court upheld the lower court’s judgment on 13 June 2006 (реш. № 6391 от 13 юни 2006 г. по адм. д. № 2249/2006 г., ВАС, петчленен с‑в), fully concurring with its reasoning.
25.  On 31 October 2005, when Mr Vitaliy Ponomaryov was in the penultimate year of his secondary education, the head teacher of his school ordered him to pay EUR 1,300 in fees, failing which he would be barred from attending classes and would not be issued with a certificate for having completed the school year.
26.  The applicant sought judicial review of this order, arguing, inter alia, that it infringed his rights under the Convention. On 4 April 2006 the Pazardzhik Regional Court dismissed his application. It found no indication that the applicant had a permanent residence permit or that a procedure for obtaining such a permit was under way. He could therefore pursue his studies only if he paid the requisite fees. This did not infringe his right to education, as aliens could attend Bulgarian schools provided they paid the requisite fees.
27.  The applicant appealed. On 13 December 2006 the Supreme Administrative Court upheld the lower court’s judgment (реш. № 12503 от 13 декември 2006 г. по адм. д. № 6371/2006 г., ВАС, V о.). It noted that, since the applicant had in the meantime been granted a permanent residence permit (see paragraph 16 above), he could attend a Bulgarian school free of charge in the future. However, as at the relevant time he had not had permanent resident status, he had been obliged to pay the requisite fees.
28.  On 20 March 2007 the head teacher of the applicant’s school invited him to pay EUR 1,300 in respect of his schooling during the 2004/05 school year and the same amount in respect of his schooling during the 2005/06 school year.
29.  It seems that the applicant was in practice not barred from attending classes throughout the period 2004/06. He submitted that he had been prevented from doing so for certain periods of time, but the court examining a civil claim by his school against him (see paragraph 30 below) found, after reviewing the available evidence in this respect, that he had attended school without interruption during that period.
30.  On 6 June 2007 the applicant’s school brought a claim against him, seeking payment of the fees due. In a judgment of 18 February 2008, the Pazardzhik District Court allowed the claim and ordered the applicant to pay his school EUR 2,600 plus interest. It found that the applicant owed this amount because at the relevant time he had not had a permanent residence permit entitling him to be schooled free of charge. Following an appeal by the applicant, on 7 May 2008 the Pazardzhik Regional Court quashed the lower court’s judgment and dismissed the claim. The school appealed on points of law. On 25 November 2008 the Supreme Court of Cassation accepted the appeal for examination, and in a judgment of 29 April 2010 (реш. № 1012 от 29 април 2010 г. по гр. д. № 3446/2008 г., ВКС, І г. о.), quashed the Pazardzhik Regional Court’s judgment and allowed the claim, ordering the applicant to pay the school the equivalent of EUR 2,600 plus interest (the total sum came to BGN 6,394.45), and BGN 350 for costs. It observed, inter alia, that the requirement for certain categories of aliens to pay school fees stemmed directly from the applicable law.